Superfights not on tap just yet, but Strikeforce boss counting down the days

Whether it anything to do with UFC brass sitting cageside or not, Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley” event certainly wound up as one of the most entertaining in the promotion’s history.

A controversial decision in a blood-filled slugfest and three
first-round stoppages were punctuated with one of the most memorable
one-round fights in recent memory.

MMA pundits immediately pitted the night’s winners against their UFC
counterparts, but even with the two promotions now under one umbrella,
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker warned fans to maintain their patience – but
to expect great things in the very near future.

“It’s been about 30 days since Zuffa purchased Strikeforce,” Coker said. “We really haven’t had that conversation. But I think when the fans demand it, those fights will happen.”

That certainly can’t lie too far in the future.

Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez solidified his position as one of the world’s best 155-pounders and is quickly running out of legitimate threats who don’t fight in the octagon.

Japanese submission master Shinya Aoki proved he still belongs on the world’s top stage, and some MMA pundits again wonder if the wrestling-heavy lightweights of the UFC could deal with the freakish grappling prowess of “Tobikan Judan.”

But of course, the real story of the night was Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz, who earned his 10th-straight win in a back-and-forth battle that Coker compared to one of boxing’s all-time classic matches in Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns. With a first-round TKO finish of British slugger Paul Daley, Diaz became the subject of much speculation. Is he ready to return to the octagon, a place he’s fought 10 times before, and assert the same type of dominance that has made him a Strikeforce fan-favorite?

Coker said the time isn’t right just yet – broadcast deals and promotional contracts will delay that moment – but the Strikeforce boss admits he can’t wait to see what happens.

“Personally, for myself, as a fan, I would love to see Gilbert fighting Frankie (Edgar) or Alistair Overeem fighting Cain Velasquez or Nick fighting [Georges St-Pierre], ‘Jacare’ (Souza) fighting Anderson Silva,” Coker said. “There are some amazing fights out there.

“To me, we have a great relationship with Showtime, and I think the fighters you see on Showtime will continue to fight on Showtime, but at some point, I think that, uh, let’s get it on.”

And when that happens, Coker believes there will be plenty more magical moments in the cage.

“I think we will finally get to see the fighters fight at some point,” Coker said. “To me, it’s always something that I’ve wanted to see. In boxing, sometimes it doesn’t happen because of the promoters, but now, at some point, there will not be one fight that will not be possible to see, and we’re all going to watch it.”